Amidst a room of frazzled parents, Kathy Pongratz sits on the side of a busy room with her son, having a calm and collected conversation.

Like many parents, Pongratz is accompanying her son on his Freshman Orientation at San Francisco State University.

The Caesar Chavez Student Center is buzzing with chaos, full of tables offering information about housing opportunities, mental health awareness programs, finance managing, upcoming events and on-campus clubs.

Students sporting SFSU attire and gator-adorned accessories called ‘Gator Aids’ roam the room, giving directions and suggestions about which booths to visit.

“This is my last college send off,” Pongratz said, “my last of three.”

For her son, this process has been about becoming fully independent and moving away from home. Even though he’ll be joining his sister at SFSU and living at his dad’s house, he aims to reach out and become involved with clubs, classes and many different elements of college life.

“This has been so much smoother and much more organized than my college process.” Pongratz said, “The technology back in my day was very minimal. This is hands-on and very convenient.”

It’s a learning of trust, according to Pongratz.

“Trusting him to make the right decisions, trusting that his parents gave him the right tools to help make those decisions.” Pongratz said.

 

After navigating two other children through the college process, Pongratz understands how the process works. Despite the fluidity of this particular process and her knowledge, she has faced her own challenges.

“The biggest challenge I’ve faced is letting go.” Pongratz said.